New York Times Won’t Endorse Gov. Cuomo in the Democratic Primary

While New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) is still the big favorite to win both the primary and the general election, he received a powerful rebut Tuesday when the New York Time editorial board choose not to endorse anyone in the Democratic primary. From the New York Times:

Mr. Cuomo became governor on that platform and recorded several impressive achievements, but he failed to perform Job 1. The state government remains as subservient to big money as ever, and Mr. Cuomo resisted and even shut down opportunities to fix it. Because he broke his most important promise, we have decided not to make an endorsement for the Democratic primary on Sept. 9.

His opponent in the primary is Zephyr Teachout, a professor at Fordham Law School who is a national expert on political corruption and an advocate of precisely the kind of transparency and political reform that Albany needs. Her description of Mr. Cuomo as part of a broken system “where public servants just end up serving the wealthy” is exactly on point, but we decline to endorse her because she has not shown the breadth of interests and experience needed to govern a big and diverse state.

The strong words about Cuomo’s failings on ethics reform are probably not enough to push Zephyr Teachout to victory next month, but it does further tarnish the image of a politician with presidential ambitions with the national Democratic base. These words could come back to haunt him in 2016, 2020, or 2024.

Jon Walker

Jonathan Walker grew up in New Jersey. He graduated from Wesleyan University in 2006. He is an expert on politics, health care and drug policy. He is also the author of After Legalization and Cobalt Slave, and a Futurist writer at http://pendinghorizon.com